When Hayley Masters laced up her skates for one final appearance as a Northeastern Husky, she did so with a lump in her throat. It was the team’s bid for their first Hockey East Championship last season, and the buzzer that signaled the end of the game against Boston College — and the Huskies’ 2-1 overtime loss — also seemingly signaled the end of Masters’ lifelong hockey career.
The Ontario native, who said she learned how to skate and play ice hockey as soon as she could walk, added Northeastern to a seemingly endless list of teams she had played for, including midget and junior hockey, Team Ontario, Bishop Strachan School in Toronto and participation in the Canadian National Selection Camps.
“Throughout my years of elementary and even high school, when someone would ask, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ my answer was always the same — a hockey player,” Masters said in an email to The News. “Letting go of something that gave me a lifetime of memories and incredible friendships left me feeling quite lost and unaware of what exactly I would do in the next chapters of my life.”
Yet soon after the freshly-minted graduate crossed the stage at TD Garden to collect her degree in journalism, she learned she would have another opportunity to hit the ice. EC Bergkamen, a team based in Bergkamen, Germany, had saved a slot on their roster for Masters.
“It was quite out of the blue,” Masters said. “The team had one import player card open and asked if I was interested in signing a seven-month contract for the season. They sent a one-way plane ticket from Toronto to Germany, and I suppose the adventure unfolded.”
EC Bergkamen plays in the Bundesliga, the highest level of ice hockey offered for women in Germany. The league is affiliated with the German Ice Hockey Federation.
Masters skated in 135 games for the Huskies, scoring 15 goals and tallying 19 assists. Head coach Dave Flint said the forward’s unwavering work ethic and adaptability set her apart from other players on the team.
“She was a kid who always competed, no matter what the score was in the game, no matter what the situation,” Flint said. “She played a third, fourth line role for us a lot, but she always worked hard at it. She never complained about it, and no matter what situation we’d use her in she’d always try to do it to the best of her ability.”
Now a few weeks into the German hockey season, Masters has already made an impact. The team played in a tournament in the capital city of Berlin and fought to victory against the Netherlands’ Olympic Team during preseason before opening their regular season with two wins over the past weekend. Masters scored one goal in each of the weekend’s games in addition to notching an assist in the season opener.
“Being an import player is difficult, as English is obviously my native language, and everyone living here speaks German,” Masters said. “I think not being able to effectively communicate with my teammates is tough at times, but we’ve created [a] sign language, charade-like system that seems to work surprisingly well.”
As she continues to adjust to the full-time athlete lifestyle that comes with playing in the pros, Masters said she is looking forward to the freedom to create her own schedule off the ice, which will hopefully include an independent athletic routine, passion projects and travel opportunities. But most of all, she is hoping to enjoy every minute out on the ice.
“My career at NU flew by before I even realized it was over, and I think it takes a heartbreak like that to really open up your eyes and learn to recognize all that you have while you have it,” Masters said. “Being able [to] wear another jersey and play the sport I love again is like getting a second chance. I wish I could have a rewind button so that I didn’t let so many moments pass me by, but every time I put on my ECB jersey now, I have the humble reminder and lesson that NU taught me, and for that I am very grateful.”
